Oscar Bids Give ‘Daisy’ a Boost at Box Office : Movies: ‘Driving’ rolls on with nine nominations; ‘Born’ falters with eight.

Fueled by nine Academy Award nominations, Warner Bros.’ “Driving Miss Daisy” continued on its box office roll over the Presidents’ Day weekend--claiming the No. 1 spot with an estimated 41% increase over the previous weekend’s ticket sales.

In contrast, Universal Pictures’ “Born on the Fourth of July,” which earned eight Oscar nominations, ranked fifth, with a jump of only about 30% --leading some industry analysts to claim that some of the spark has gone out of the Vietnam drama.

With weekend ticket sales of $10.7 million, “Daisy” now has total receipts of more than $45 million. Adapted from Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer-Prize winning play, the comedy-drama chronicles the warm, decades-long relationship between an eccentric Southern Jewish matron and her patient black chauffeur.

“Born on the Fourth of July,” which chronicles Ron Kovic’s grim odyssey from gung-ho soldier to anti-war activist, had weekend receipts of $4.4 million--for cumulative receipts of $53.5 million.

Although Academy Award nominations helped fuel some of the increased business, it was also helped by the President’s Day holiday on Monday, which allowed studios to do four-day box-office tallies, instead of the usual three.

Meanwhile, among recent entries, “Hard to Kill” continued to prove hard to beat. Starring Steven Seagal as a hotshot cop, out to get even with the bad guys who murdered his wife and children, the Warner Bros.’ title was No. 2, with $8.4 million in ticket sales. This brings the picture’s total two-week receipts to more than $20 million, which marks a strong second film for Seagal, especially considering that his entry film, last year’s “Above the Law,” grossed less than $20 million.

In third and fourth place were the just-out “Revenge” and “Madhouse.”

Columbia Pictures’ “Revenge,” starring Kevin Costner, opened to just over $6 million--”a weak figure for a Costner picture, but a strong figure considering the reviews,” according to one exhibitor source. “Madhouse,” a comedy which Orion Pictures chose not to screen for critics, opened to $5.2 million.

Both “Glory” and “My Left Foot,” which each earned five Oscar nominations, also had increased ticket sales. Tri-Star’s “Glory,” which ranked 16th last week, jumped to eighth place, with ticket sales of $2.6 million--for a $16 million total. In limited release at only 98 theaters (to expand to 250 this weekend), Miramax’s “My Left Foot” earned $676,795--for a per screen average of nearly $7,000 (last week’s per screen was 4,070). Grosses for “My Left Foot,” which expands to 250 screens this weekend, are now at $3.3 million.

PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1.”Driving Miss Daisy” $10.7 1,397 10 (Warner Bros.) $45.2 $7,704 2.”Hard to Kill’ $8.4 1,452 2 (Warner Bros.) $20.5 $5,799 3.”Revenge” $6 1,379 1 (Columbia) $6 $4,414 4.”Madhouse” $5.2 1,552 1 (Orion) $5.2 $3,377 5.”Born on the Fourth of July” $4.4 1,363 9 (Universal) $53.5 $3,232

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.